Premier
visit to Leeds
Prime
minister of Namibia Hage Geingob recently came to Leeds
in his professional capacity – although he's more
accustomed to attending the University as a student. A
former SWAPO freedom fighter, Hage Geingob is studying
for a doctorate at Leeds, and was invited to attend a
conference on peasants, liberation and socialism in Africa,
organised by the centre for African studies.
"I
think all prime ministers should study," Hage Geingob
said. "Academic work is about theory, and ideas,
and poiticians have to deal with practicalities. But practice
without theory is dangerous – a good leader needs
to combine them both. One problem in Africa is that many
leaders aren't well enough informed about the issues and
crises we face."
Despite
the pressures of his position, Hage Geingob still manages
to find time to study. "You can always make time,"
he said. "I don't smoke, or go out dancing and drinking.
Because of security issues, I have to spend a lot of time
under guard at home. I call it my 'prison," he joked,
"and in my prison, I use the time to study."
An
avid football supporter, Hage Geingob has been following
the fortunes of Leeds United since beginning his doctorate
at the University. The World Cup is likely to distract
him momentarily from his studies – he's just accepted
an invitation to attend. But with five African teams still
in the competition, he wasn't giving any clues as to who
he'd be supporting.
